Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Handouts Prelims Art Appreciation
Handouts Prelims Art Appreciation
Introduction to the Humanities: A Holistic Approach, Books Atbp., 2009, - Jesus Menoy
Introduction to Art Appreciation, C & E Publishing, 2008, – Mariano Ariola
6. Through the artist’s work, we get a glimpse of the thoughts, feelings and beliefs of the people in their
time and the faces in their environment that influenced their artwork.
7. We may be influenced to change our ways and behavior out of the aesthetic experiences we
derive from the arts.
a. They may transform us into highly-cultured, dignified, and respectable human beings.
b. The arts may beautify our humanity.
c. This explains why the arts are called humanities.
i. They bring out the good and the noble in us.
ii. Through the arts, we come to know the changing image of man as he journeys
across time, searches for the reality, and strive to achieve the ideals that create
meaning for life.
8. ART APPRECIATION:
a. Ability to interpret or understand man-made arts and enjoy them either through actual and
work-experience with art tools and materials or possession of these works of art for one’s
admiration and satisfaction.
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b. Painting, sculpture, graphic arts, literature, and theatre arts are generally classified as
representational.
3. Non-representational or non-objective arts (SUBJECTIVE)
a. Artworks that have no resemblance to any real subject
b. They do not represent anything and they are what they are.
c. They rather appeal directly to the senses primarily because of the satisfying organization of
their sensuous and expressive elements.
v. ARISTOTLE
1. To be beautiful is to be something proportional (order)
2. Law of nature = the world has a system – everything is directed towards an
end (teleological)
a. Everything has a purpose and a function
b. UTILITARIAN FUNCTION
i. With the creation of the various forms of art, man now lives in comfort and
happiness.
ii. Through art, man is provided with shelter, clothing, food, light, medicine, beautiful
surroundings, personal ornamentals, entertainment, language, transportation, and
other necessities and conveniences of life.
iii. Art improves nature through landscape gardening, creation of superhighways, and
through propagation and conservation of natural resources.
c. CULTURAL FUNCTION
i. Through the printed matter, art transmits and preserves skills and knowledge from
one generation to another.
ii. It burdens one’s cultural background and makes man more civilized and his life more
enduring and satisfying.
d. SOCIAL FUNCTION
i. Through civic and graphic arts, man learns to love and help each other.
ii. International understanding and cooperation are fostered and nations become more
unified, friendly, cooperative, helpful, and sympathetic.
e. ECONOMIC FUNCTION
i. Art can be a lucrative job. (it can pay well/ profitable)
ii. E.g. Steven Spielberg’s movies. J. K. Rowling’s novels
f. POLITICAL FUNCTION
i. Murals can inculcate virtues of self-discipline, industry, unity, and cooperation.
g. HISTORICAL
i. Art forms can record historical figures and events
ii. E.g. sculptures of Philippine Heroes, tombs of rulers (Pyramids of Egypt & Taj Majal of
India)
h. RELIGIOUS FUNCTION
i. Art evolved from religion
ii. Worship of gods in the form of dances and songs
iii. E.g. Greek gods, mausoleum of Rome (cemetery)
i. PHYSICAL FUNCTION
i. Houses and other buildings are constructed to protect their occupants
ii. Dance as the best form of exercise
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v. DIVISIONS OF ART STUDY
1. AESTHETICS OR ART APPRECIATION
a. The science of beauty – student learns to admire the artists, value highly different works of
art and appreciate the role of art in the society.
2. ART HISTORY
a. Student acquires knowledge of the artists, their backgrounds, their masterpieces, and their
significant contributions in various fields of art.
3. ART PRODUCTION
a. Student learns to use his creativity and apply his artistic knowledge and skills in producing his
own works of art.
4. ART CRITICISM
a. Student learns to use his judgment in evaluating different artworks based on criteria set.
viii. ART STYLE (how an artist present his work) AND FACTORS AFFECTING STYLE
1. GEOGRAPHICAL FACTORS
a. The place where the artist stays influences his works
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2. HISTORICAL FACTORS
a. E.g. Rizal’s Novels, Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables depicts the French Revolution, Juan Luna’s
“Spoliarium” depicts Filipino Oppression by the Spaniards
3. SOCIAL FACTORS
a. Situations in the society dictate the type of art form
b. E.g. My Husband’s Lover & Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros show present-day realities in the
society
4. IDEATIONAL FACTORS
a. Ideologies coming from great thinkers
b. E.g. Sigmund Freud, proposed ideas that have influenced surrealist painters
c. The idea that the human body is the most beautiful figure to present as an art subject gave
rise to the school of thought called nudism.
5. PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
a. Works produced by the artists are affected by their psychological make-up or frame of mind.
b. E.g. Edward Munch’s “The Sick Child” – an effect of his unfortunate childhood experience of
contracting a long illness after losing his loved at an early age.
c. E.g. Vincent Van Gogh’s painting “The Starry Night” was believed to be completed during his
stay in an asylum
6. TECHNICAL FACTORS
a. Different techniques are applied to make one’s work unique and different from others.
7. POLITICAL FACTORS
a. Satires (critique) attacking the situation of the government.
b. E.g. Rizal’s Novels
8. ECONOMIC FACTORS
a. The availability of financial and other resources plays an important role in the life of an artist
b. E.g. a filmmaker who is not financially well-off may produce a low-budgeted independent film
with not-so-known actors in the cast and with the use of outmoded equipment
c. E.g. an abstract painter may shift to realism if his paintings do not sell.
3. TEMPERA
a. Its paints are mineral pigments mixed with egg yolk or egg white and ore.
b. They are often used as binder due to its film forming properties and rapid drying rate
c. Corrections are difficult to make: medium dries quickly
d. Does not possess the flexibility of oil.
e. It is usually done in wooden panel that has been made very smooth with plaster called
“gesso” (chalk and gum)
f. One distinguishing advantage of tempera is its luminous tone – the colors being clear and
beautiful.
4. PASTEL
a. This is a stick of dried paste made of pigment round with chalk and compounded with gum
water.
b. Its colors are luminous
c. It is difficult to preserve the finished product in its original freshness – when the chalk rubs,
the picture loses some of its brilliance.
5. ENCAUSTIC
a. One of the early media used by the Egyptians for the painted portrait on mummy cases.
b. This is done by painting with wax colors fixed with heat.
c. Painting with wax produces luster and radiance in the subject making them appear at their
best in portraits.
6. OIL
a. Expensive and the heaviest of painting media
b. Pigments are mixed with linseed oil and applied to the canvas
c. It is flexible: artist may use a brush, palette knife, or even his bare hands when applying paint
in the canvas
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d. The painting dries slowly; it can be changed and worked over a long period of time.
e. Painting done in oil is glossy and lasts long.
7. ACRYLIC
a. Is used popularly by contemporary painters because of the transparency and quick-drying
characteristics of watercolor and the flexibility of oil combined.
b. This synthetic paint is mixed with acrylic emulsion as binder for coating the surface of the
artwork.
c. Acrylic paints do not tend to break easily, unlike oil paints which turn yellowish or darker over
a period of time.
8. MOSAIC
a. This is a picture or decoration made of small pieces of inlaid colored stones or glass called
“tesserae,” which most often are cut into squares glued on a surface with plaster or cement.
9. STAINED GLASS
a. Common in Gothic cathedrals and churches.
b. This is made by combining many small pieces of colored glass which are held together by
bands of lead (patchwork)
c. In large windows, the lead is reinforced by heavy iron bars that make heavy black lines in the
picture.
10. TAPESTRY
a. This is a fabric consisting of a warp upon which colored threads are woven by hand to
produce a design, often pictorials, wall hangings and furniture covering.
11. DRAWING
a. Is usually done on paper using pencil, pen and ink, or charcoal
b. It is the most fundamental of all skills necessary in arts
c. Considered as a very good training for artists because it makes one concentrate on the use of
line.
d. Shading can also be used to make drawing more life-like and realistic.
i. For linework, hard pencil lead is applied
ii. On a granular surface, soft pencils are used because they invite effects of mass and
a texture of gray.
e. India ink, which comes in liquid form, is the favorite medium of comic strip illustrators and
cartoonists.
f. Chinese ink, comes in solid sticks that are dissolved in water before they are used.
12. BISTRE
a. A brown pigment extracted from the soot of wood, and often used in pen and wash drawings.
13. CRAYONS
a. Are pigments bound by wax and compressed into painted sticks used for drawing especially
among children in the elementary grades
14. CHARCOAL
a. These are carbonaceous materials obtained by heating wood or other organic substances in
the absence of oxygen.
b. It is used in representing broad masses of light and shadow.
c. Soft charcoal produces the darkest value
d. Dark charcoal produces the lightest tone
15. SILVERPOINT
a. The artist has a technique of drawing with silver stylus on specially prepared paper to
produce a thin grayish line
b. Popular during the renaissance period
16. PRINTMAKING
a. Anything printed on the surface that is a direct result from duplicating process
b. Graphic image is done in black ink on white paper and becomes the artist’s plate.
c. One of the advantages of printmaking is the process of making many copies of the original
drawing.
d. 5 major types of prints:
i. Woodcut
1. The remaining surface of the wood is being cut away
ii. Engraving
1. This is the art of forming designs by cutting, corrosion by acids
2. The lines of the design are cut into a metal plate with ink and transferred
from the plate to the paper.
3. The lines of an engraving are cut by hand with an instrument called burin, a
steel tool with an oblique point and rounded handle for carving stone and
engraving metal.
4. Etching
a. A copper or zinc plate is covered with a “ground” a smooth coating
of wax mixed with pitch and amber.
b. The artist scratches the picture into the ground and puts the plate
in acid, which “eats” the picture into the plate
c. The ground is scraped off and the plate is then used to print the
picture
iii. Relief
1. Involves cutting away from a block of wood or linoleum the parts of the
design that the artist wants to be seen, leaving the portion of the third
dimension
2. Color prints are made by preparing a separate block for each color to be
used.
iv. Intaglio
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1. Printing process in which the design or the text is engraved into the surface
of the place and the ink is transferred to paper from the goover.
2. The design is engraved or etched into a metal plate.
3. The incised line is then filled with ink and under considerable pressure,
leaves a sharp impression on paper surface.
v. Stencil process
1. Involves cutting of the design on special paper cardboard or metal sheet in
such a way that when ink is rubbed over it, the design is reproduced on the
surface.
2. The printing is done through a silkscreen which is made of a fine silk or
nylon stretched tightly over a wooden frame.
iv. MUSIC
1. Music is the art of combining sounds of varying pitch to produce a coherent composition that is
melodious, harmonious, intelligible, and expressive of ideas and emotions.
v. VOICE CLASSIFICATION
1. Voice differs considerably according to timbre (quality) and range.
2. As to timbre, they are classified into: women’s voices and men’s voices.
a. Women’s voices:
i. Soprano: tone is lighter in character, less somber and frequently more flexible. It is
classified into:
1. Coloratura soprano: highest and lightest of all voices.
2. Mezzo-soprano: it is a medium high in tonal quality
3. Lyric soprano: is less high and flute-like. It is suited to sweet songs like
melodies
ii. Alto or contralto – the tone is richer and fuller
b. Men’s voices:
i. Tenor: the highest type in men’s voices
ii. Baritone: the voice is between tenor and bass
iii. Bass: the lowest and deepest voice quality
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vii. DIFFERENT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
1. 3 main types:
a. Instruments which are bowed/ plucked
i. Strings
1. Violin, viola, violoncello, string bass
b. Instruments which are blown
i. Brasses
1. Piccolo, flute, clarinet, oboe, English horn, bass clarinet, bassoon,
contrabassoon
ii. Woodwinds
1. Trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba
c. Instruments which are struck
i. Percussion
1. Snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle
8. Harmony
a. The simultaneous sounding of 2 or more tones
b. When 3 or more tones are sounded simultaneously, there exists
i. Concord: if the combination or chord seems to produce an impression of
agreeableness or resolution to the listener
ii. Discord or dissonance: if there is no combination
9. Texture
a. It is the number of tones expected to be apprehended simultaneously
b. It is either monophonic (sounding of a single melodic line without an accompaniment)
c. Polyphonic (simultaneous sounding of two or more melodic lines of relatively equal interest)
d. Homophonic (sounding of one main melody supported by a subordinate one, as in the
performance of a folk singer with guitar accompaniment)
10. Form
a. It is the overall organization of the composition
b. All the musical elements are put together to come up with the cohesive whole called form.
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c. E.g. Jose Palma’s lyrics of the Philippine National Anthem entitled “Lupang Hinirang” were
arranged into a march by Julian Felipe
i. All the notes and all the other components of the song constitute its form
2. ABSTRACTION
a. This is used when the artist becomes so interested in one phase of a scene or a situation that
he does not show the subject at all as an objective reality, but only his idea, or his feelings
about it.
b. Abstract means “to move away or to separate” – drawing away from realism
i. Abstract art moves away from showing things as they really are.
ii. The painter or artist paints the picture not as it really looked.
iii. The picture is not just realistic.
iv. E.g. Constantin Brancusi’s “Bird in Space”
c. Abstract subjects can also be presented in many ways like:
i. Distortion:
1. subject is in misshapen condition, or the regular shape is twisted out
2. e.g. apple is shown as a square
ii. Elongation:
1. Refers to that which is lengthened, protraction or extension.
2. E.g. El Greco’s “The Resurrection of Christ”
iii. Mangling:
1. Showing subjects which are cut, lacerated, mutilated, or hacked with
repeated blows.
iv. Cubism:
1. Stresses abstract form through the use of a cone, cylinder, or sphere at the
expense of other pictorial elements.
2. The cubists want to show forms in their geometrical shapes.
3. E.g. Paul Cezanne, George Braque, Pablo Picasso
4. Tam Austria’s “Fisherman’s Family”, Vicente Manansala’s “Balut Vendors”,
“Prayer before Meals”
v. Abstract expression
1. Characterized by great verve, the use of large canvasses, and a deliberate
lack of refinement in the application of the paint.
2. Strong color, heavy impasto, uneven brush strokes, and rough textures are
other typical characteristics.
3. It departs completely from subject matter, from studied precision, and from
any kind of preconceived design.
4. E.g. Jackson Pollock, Jose Joya
3. SYMBOLISM
a. Is a visible sign of something invisible such as an idea or a quality.
i. The artist shows his subject as it appears in real life, but he intends to let it
represent something.
b. It can be simply an emblem or sign like: % to represent percent.
c. E.g. Juan Luna’ “Spolarium”
i. As a Roman Term, “Spolarium”, referred to the spoils of war, spoils of tyrants and the
king.
d. Guillermo Tolentino’s “Oblation” – symbol of academic freedom
4. FAUVISM
a. The fauves did not attempt to express ethical, philosophical, or psychological themes.
b. Most of these artists tried to paint pictures of comfort, joy, and pleasure.
c. They used extremely bright colors.
i. It is optimistic realism – it is presenting the real-life subject with the use of bright
colors suggesting comfort, joy, and pleasure.
d. To a fauve, for example, a tree trunk need not be brown. It could be bright, red, purple, or any
other color.
e. Important fauves: Andre Derain, Raoul Dufy, George Rouault, Henry Matisse (“The Red
Room”)
6. FUTURISM
a. Works that capture the speed and force of modern industrial society.
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b. Their paintings glorified the mechanical energy of modern life.
c. Subjects included automobiles, motorcycles, and railroad trains – subjects that express the
explosive vitality of a modern city.
9. IMPRESSIONISM
a. Presenting the real-life subject with emphasis on the impression left in the artist’s mind,
particularly the effect of light on the object used as subject.
b. E.g. an apple on a table is presented not as entirely red, but with white areas showing the
spots where the light rays fall upon.
c. Painters: Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, August Renoir, Camille Pissarro,
Vincent Van Gogh
7. Repeating Lines
a. These are succession of vertical (llllll), horizontal (======), diagonal (////// or \\\\\) or curved
(CCCCC) lines.
b. These are used to show rhythm.
8. Contrasting lines
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a. These are combination of vertical and horizontal lines (LLLLLL) or a combination of diagonal
lines (XXXXX) or <<<< or >>>> in opposite directions.
9. Modified lines
a. These are combination of straight and curved lines [{}] or a combination of lines of varying
shapes ({>O<})
ii. COLOR:
1. Definition
a. It has the most aesthetic appeal. It is a property of light. When light goes out, color goes
with it.
b. The light of the sun contains all the colors of the spectrum: violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow,
orange, and red.
i. When a beam of light passes through a prism, the different rays of color are
separated so that we are able to see and identify them.
ii. When light strikes a surface, some of the color rays are absorbed while others are
reflected
c. White, gray, and black have no color quality.
3. Secondary hues:
a. Green, orange, and violet (GOV) – they are produced by
combining two primary colors.
b. Orange = red + yellow
c. Green = yellow + blue
i. It is the color for vegetation and symbolizes life and
freshness.
d. Violet = blue + red
i. It represents shadows and mysteries, death and despair.
4. Intermediate hues:
a. These are produced by combining one primary color and one
secondary color.
b. Red- violet (RV)
c. Red- orange (RO)
d. Yellow-green (YG)
e. Blue-green (BG)
f. Blue-violet (BV)
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ix. Neutral colors
1. White, gray, black
2. White is the absence of all colors/ black is the presence of all colors/ gray is
produced by combining black and white
b. VALUE
i. Sometimes called chiaroscuro, refers to the lightness or darkness of a color
ii. It is a quality which depends on the amount of light and dark in color
c. INTENSITY
i. It is the 3rd dimension of color.
ii. It refers to the brightness or darkness of color.
iii. It gives color strength
3. COLOR HARMONIES
a. RELATED COLOR HARMONIES
i. MONOCHROMATIC
1. Made up of several tones of one hue: orange, tan, brown, and other tones
from the orange family.
ii. ADJACENT OR NEIGHBORING HARMONY
1. 2 or 3 neighboring hues are used together
2. E.g. tones of green, yellow, and orange
3. They have something in common because there is yellow in green and in
orange
iii. TEXTURE
1. Texture is a color element that deals more directly with the sense of touch.
2. It has to do with the characteristics of surfaces which can be rough, or smooth, fine or coarse,
shiny or dull, plain or irregular.
3. Texture is best appreciated when an object is felt with the hands.
iv. SHAPE
1. Contributes to the final form of the artwork.
2. Circles and polygons (triangles, rectangles, squares) are put together to make up the whole object.
3. E.g. Christmas lantern
v. PERSPECTIVE
1. It deals with the effect of distance upon the appearance of objects, by means of which the eye
judges spatial relationships.
2. It enables us to perceive distance and to see the position of objects in space.
3. Classifications:
a. Linear perspective
i. It is the representation of an appearance of distance by means of converging lines.
1. The tracks of a railroad appear to the viewer as seeming to rise and meet in
the distance.
2. Painters usually show the effect of space and distance by using converging
lines and diminishing size.
ii. Parallel lines below eye level seem to rise to a vanishing point in the horizon, while
those above eye level seemed to descend to the vanishing point.
1. Near objects are seen in full intensity of color.
2. Objects appear smaller as they recede in to the distance.
3. People or objects, at the background of a painting seem to be shorter than
those in front.
b. Aerial perspective
i. It is the representation of relative distances of objects by gradiations of tone and
color.
ii. Objects become fainter in the distance due to the effect to the atmosphere.
vi. SPACE
1. Area or surface occupied by the artwork.
vii. FORM
1. It describes the shape or structure of an object.
2. Form directs the movements of the eyes.
3. Since form consists of size and volume, it signifies visual weight.
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4. “form follows function” – this means that the inner content of purpose or function governs the outer
appearance.
5. E.g. sculpture
6. CLASSIFICATION OF FORMS:
a. REGULAR FORMS
i. Are those whose parts are related to one another in a consistent orderly manner
ii. They are generally stable and symmetrical
iii. E.g. platonic solids: circle triangle square
b. IRREGULAR FORMS
i. These are those whose parts are dissimilar and unrelated to one another.
ii. They are asymmetrical and dynamic.
iii. These are regular forms from which irregular elements have been subtracted
c. CENTRALIZED FORMS
i. It consists of a number of secondary forms clustered to produce a dominant, central,
and parent form.
ii. These forms share the self-centering properties of the point and circle.
iii. These forms are ideal as freestanding structures, isolated within their context,
dominating a point in space, or occupying the center of a defined field.
d. LINEAR FORMS
i. They are arranged sequentially in a row or a series of forms along a line.
e. RADIAL FORMS
i. They are compositions of linear form that extend outward from central form in a
radial manner.
f. GRID FORMS
i. These are modular forms whose relationships are regulated by 3-dimensional grids.
ii. A grid is a 2 or more intersecting sets of regularly spaced parallel lines.
iii. The square grid generates a spatial network of reference points and lines and within
this modular framework any number of form and spaces can be visually organized.
viii. VOLUME
1. It refers to the amount of space occupied in three dimensions. It refers to solidity or thickness.
2. We perceive volume in 2 ways: by contour lines or outlines or shapes of objects, and by surface lights
and shadows.
b. GREEK ART – the subject matters of painting in Greece were on young wide males, draped female, wounded soldiers,
and scenes from everyday life.
i. Formative or Pre-Greek period: motif was sea and nature
ii. First Greek Period: largely Egyptian influence
iii. Golden Age (480-400 BC)
iv. Hellenistic Period (4th century – 1st BC)
1. Heightened individualism, tragic mood, and contorted faces (lacaustic painting)
c. ROMAN ART: the art served the cult of ancestors and defied emperors.
i. Etruscan Period (2000- 1000 BC)
1. Subject matters of painting were on ancestor worship; catacombs and sarcophage
d. MEDIEVAL PERIOD
i. EARLY CHRISTIAN ART
1. Subject matters of art were symbols: cross, fish, lamb, alpha and omega, triumphal wreaths, grapes,
doves, and peacocks and later-haloed Christ, saints, and the Virgin Mary, and martyrs.
2. Spiritual expression took precedence over physical beauty and symbols were emphasized.
e. FRANCO-FLEMISH PAINTING
i. Portable easel paintings and oil paintings were utilized.
ii. Illustrations consisting of alter pieces with general wings that open and close.
iii. Children’s faces were painted like small adults; spectator was even drawn into the picture.
iv. Landscape was placed within the pictures by the open window technique where faraway landscape of towns,
people and river were seen.
f. RENAISSANCE ART
i. EARLY RENAISSANCE (14TH – 15TH CENTURY)
1. The styles of painting are simplicity, beauty, gesture, and expression.
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2. Painting was on man and nature in fresco technique.
g. BAROQUE ART
i. Style is ornate and fantastic appealing to the emotion, sensual and highly decorative; with light and shadow for
dramatic effect.
ii. The paintings showed figures in diagonal, twists, and zigzags.
iii. Famous painters included: Paul Rubens, Rembrandt, El Greco, Diego Velasquez, and Murillo
h. ROCOCO ART
i. Painting style emphasized voluptuousness, picturesque and intimate presentation of farm and country.
ii. The art technique made use of soft pastel colors rendering the landscape smoking and hazy with the subject
always in the center of the canvas.
iii. Famous painters were: Watteau, Fragonard, Hogarth, Reynolds, and Ingres.
i. ROMANTIC ART
i. The emphasis of painting is on the painter’s reactions to past events, landscapes, and people.
ii. Famous painter: Francisco Goya
j. 19TH CENTURY PAINTING (MODERN ART) – art was aimed to please the public
i. IMPRESSIONISTS
1. Paul Cezanne was the greatest impressionist and the Father of Modern Art
ii. EXPRESSIONISTS
1. Vincent Van Gogh was the Father of Expressionism
2. He used bright, pure colors mixed on the palette but applied to the canvas in small dots or strokes
replying on the beholder’s eyes to see them together.
iii. SIMPLICITY IN ART
1. Painter: Paul Gauguin
2. He studied the technique of craftsmen and applied these to his canvas.
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d. PAINTING IN THE MODERN PERIOD
i. In 1951: a gallery for the modern painting was established on a side street of Calle Mabini in Ermita.
ii. This Gallery is called the Philippine Art Gallery
1. Heads of Igorots, Ifugaos, Mindanao Moslems, Bagobos, and Mangyans were the favorite subjects in
their galleries.
2. Painters: Romeo Enriquez (Sonata), Fernando Zobel Jr., Victor Oteyza, Manuel Rodriguez, Hugo Yonzon,
Manansala, Luz, Bernardo Ocampo, Legazpi, Estella, and Tabuena.
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